by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will plead guilty to a reckless driving charge, bringing closure to a DUI case that had hung over his head for almost two years.

Lynch, 27, must pay a $1,033 fine and attend six driver's safety classes but won't lose his license, according to his attorney, Ivan Golde, who was confident they would've beaten the case.

"We got a wet reckless (alcohol-related reckless driving charge), and Marshawn didn't want to do a public trial," Golde told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "It was based on an unsafe lane change with some alcohol in his system, but not above .08.

"After the great season the Seahawks had, the last thing Marshawn wanted to do is to make this a public spectacle."

Lynch was arrested July 2012 on suspicion of DUI near his home in Oakland, Calif. According to Golde, Lynch's blood-alcohol level was .08 and at .10 an hour and a half later.

"The field sobriety testing for blood alcohol at the scene has a margin of error of .03," Golde said, "so Marshawn could have been at .05 when he was pulled over and that is what our expert testimony would have been."

The NFL has waited two full seasons to make a decision on potential discipline even though it has suspended Lynch once before - a three-game ban to start the 2009 season following a misdemeanor gun charge in Los Angeles.

League spokesman Greg Aiello told USA TODAY Sports in an email Thursday the league "would review the facts under our league policies."

Lynch scored four playoff touchdowns in the Seahawks' march to a victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

"I would expect and hope the league would not suspend Marshawn based on the resolution in this case," Golde said.